SHARJAH, The results of the recently conducted survey by the Health Promotion Department, HPD, at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, has shown increased attention to the applications and programmes that enhance the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, including proper nutrition, physical activity, maintaining healthy body weight, and chronic disease prevention.

The survey, which is conducted through the HPD’s website and social medial platforms aims to measure and assess the health awareness level in the emirate of Sharjah.

The results showed that 76 percent of the targeted sample underlined the importance of physical activity in improving overall health, 45 percent of those surveyed are engaged in regular physical activity (1 to 3 times weekly), 75 percent of them underlined the importance of nutrition, while 30 percent of them are keen to read the food label before buying products to know more about the ingredients and the number of calories.

Iman Rashid Saif, Director of the Health Promotion Department, stated that the HPD’s keenness to measure the health awareness in Sharjah society is in line with the vision and directives of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah and wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, who plays a great role in making the HPD one of the most important entities in reinforcing Sharjah’s efforts in elevating health awareness and stimulating community members to adopt healthy lifestyles.

She said the survey showed an interest in nutrition and obesity topics by 68 percent and chronic diseases by 47 percent.

The survey revealed that 57 percent of the participants chose the doctor as the first source of awareness, followed by health-related social media pages by 24 percent. The survey also found that the participants are more interested in receiving awareness tips through social media platforms and smart applications by 45 percent, followed by media outlets by 30 percent, something that underlines the need to put more emphasis on using social networking sites to deliver awareness-raising programmes.

Instagram emerged as the most favourite method to communicate and to receive information, followed by WhatsApp, Snapchat, and YouTube.

The results also showed that 49 percent of the targeted sample are obese and overweight, 32 percent of them are suffering from joint pain, and 24 percent eat junk food.

Some 1,397 individuals from all society groups took part in the survey, 66 percent of them are employees of government institutions and 34 percent of them are divided between students, social media followers, housewives, private-sector employees, and retirees.

Among the most important goals of the survey is to provide additional support to the “Wazen” programme, the first health survey for Sharjah government employees, which explains why the highest percentage of participants is from the public sector.

The programme aims to create a database, the first of its kind, for the health and wellbeing of Sharjah government employees, through which several initiatives and decisions, and activities will be developed to enhance the health and safety of the employees. Wazen is targeting employees of 60 government departments and institutions across Sharjah and the eastern and central regions of the emirate.